Grazing on plant foods at Maine's Veg Food Fest

Maine's herbivores gathered yesterday for the annual celebration of plant-based cuisine that is the Vegetarian & Vegan Food Festival. Now in its sixth year, the event attracted hundreds of attendees and more than two dozen food vendors, vegetarian-focused businesses and animal rights nonprofits.

One of the most popular tables was staffed by Portland's premier vegetarian restaurant, the Green Elephant. Here co-owner Dan Sriprasert serves up free samples of fresh and fried spring rolls, while his team members offer up wontons, soy nuggets and stir fry.

The Vermont Soy booth also attracted a line with samples of tofu stir fry.

Maine Animal Coalition, the event sponsor, used a variety of donated products to create a Tofurky sandwich stand and a top-your-own baked potato bar, both of which attracted lines and positive reviews.

I enjoyed trying Dr. John's Brain-ola made by Little Lad's Bakery using Dr. John Herzog's recipe. Unlike other granolas, it's not coated in sweetener. We couldn't resit buying a bag to bring home.

David Homa who owns Kzeloumsen Permaculture Gardens presented a lush display highlighting his edible landscaping services. I love the fact that he included these gorgeous rocks in his design. He tells me he and Eli Cayer are cooking up an interesting project, which I hope to check out soon. If I get the scoop, I'll be sure to share it in my Natural Foodie column in the Portland Press Herald.

Once again, the festival proved to be another stellar event showcasing the diverse ways to enjoy plant-based meals in Maine. It's great to know that eating low on the food chain is so easy here in the pine tree state.

Organic eats at the Common Ground Fair

A fabulous cocktail party Friday night (thanks David, Vanessa and Lauren!) delayed our departure last Saturday morning for the 33rd annual Common Ground Country Fair. But eventually Adam and I hit the road for Unity, a tiny college and farming town in the central part of the state.

The celebration of natural living always draws a big crowd, and the day we showed up so did 26,000 others. We all wanted to check out such things as the state's only organic farmers market, the renewable energy demonstrations and the angora bunnies and pygmy goats.

Without a doubt, the food court is the biggest attraction at the fair. The walkways along the concession booths were jam packed throughout our visit. By closing time many stands had run out of popular items.

The fair's vendors use local and organic ingredients whenever possible, and the emphasis is on freshly prepared whole foods. Vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free offerings abound, without forgetting fair staples including organic fried dough and locally grown french fried potatoes.

I snapped these photos of a few of the booths we sampled from:













Even with food everywhere and more than 700 talks and performances, my favorite thing about the fair continues to be finding myself surrounded by natural foodies as far as the eye can see.

Going natural for the Portland Press Herald

As a professional scribe, I now have a new gig. I'm working for the Portland Press Herald's features department and one of my assignments is to write a weekly column called Natural Foodie. I began my inaugural column with a reference to my early days on the commune turned organic farm, so I thought I'd share a vintage photo with you.

This was shot in 1975 on Sunshine Farm and I'm standing in front of the newly constructed pig pen. It was the shelter given to a whole series of pigs, including the one I caught in a pig scramble at the Litchfield Country Fair, raised as a friend and later was asked to eat a slice of for dinner. As I said in the column, this is why my mother thinks I became a vegetarian.

While that and a series of other up-close-and-personal food encounters on the farm may have been traumatic at the time, they ultimately proved beneficial in nudging me toward the many delights of plant-based cuisine.

Such as these tasty samosas from Tandoor in the Old Port, which I mention in the column's sidebar that lists my lunches from last week.

My choice to eat plants rather than flesh has also introduced me to a whole bunch of fellow vegetarians, including members of the fast-growing Maine Vegan Meetup. Here we are enjoying lunch at the always packed and super vegan-friendly Silly's in the East End.

So if you're a fan of natural eats, be sure to pick up a copy of the Press Herald every Wednesday. And should you have news to share from Maine's healthful food scene, give me a ring at 791-6297 or drop me an email.

Fake ketchup and how to avoid it

I was craving the Good Egg's tasty tempeh hash the other morning, and I knew I'd want to enjoy it with a dollop of ketchup. But I also knew Heniz - standard issue ketchup for most restaurants in Portland - contains high fructose corn syrup.

More chemical than edible, high fructose corn syrup has been linked to diabetes and obesity and shown to contain mercury. I try my best to avoid it. Still I'm realistic about my love of restaurants, and how it means I don't always know if (or when) I'm eating fake foods.

But it's hard to ignore the high fructose corn syrup when it's staring at your from a label. So I now bring my own. I use this Stonewall Kitchen jam jar, fill it with organic ketchup and tuck it inside my purse. Once the food arrives, I savor the ketchup's tangy sweet touch and relish my avoidance of at least one fake food pitfall.

Vote for vegan foodie blog in Best of Portland poll

It is such an honor to have Commune Tested, City Approved nominated as Portland's Best Food Blog by the Portland Phoenix. As you can see, the competition is super stiff, so I need all the help I can get. Voting goes through April 3, which means there's still time to vote vegan!

Vegetarian reviewed in Portland, ME (and beyond)

The fermented black bean and tofu noodle bowl at the A1 Diner.

Two years ago when I agreed to join a pool of writers contributing restaurant reviews to The Maine Switch magazine, I knew I had a unique task. Like the other writers, I'd need to tease out story after story in the ordinary act of eating a meal and convey these tales to a mainstream audience. But unlike my fellow scribes dining in service of Switch, I'd be eating (and writing) from the vegetarian part of the plate.

A take-out Greek pizza without cheese from Bonobo.

Since then I've written about a number of local restaurants where a vegan can get a decent meal and an omnivore has plenty of options. I (almost) never forget to sample from the bar.

During these past two years, plant-based foods and meals have continued to blossom here in Portland. In 2007, The Green Elephant opened, giving the city it's first upscale, all-vegetarian dinner spot. That same year a pair of former restaurant owners began making the vegan Blue Mango Veggie burgers (which show up on many of the pub menus around town) and Sarah Conroy started the Maine Vegan Meet-Up group. Last year the owner of The Kitchen closed up shop in order to produce his popular Papou's Kitchen falafels for local stores and restaurants.

From soup shops to white tablecloth establishments, more and more vegan items are showing up on Portland menus. At Thai and Pan-Asian eateries, I've noticed many menus listing vegan white sauce as an alternative to garlic sauce. And this July 18 the city's 5th annual Vegetarian Food Festival takes place at the East End Community School.

It's definitely been an exciting time to contribute a vegetarian voice to the lively food discourse that takes place in Portland. Along the way I've hooked readers up with date night ideas, disturbed others with my fondness for cheese-free pizza (see above), learned how to properly appreciate martinis (in moderation) and developed a deep attachment to the Castelvetrano olives served at Novare Res Bier Bar.

Here are those gorgeous olives from Novare.

A garden salad and hummus plate at White Heart.

So in honor of Switch's two-year anniversary, I give you a round-up of my vegetarian restaurant reviews. I hope to write many more.

Novare Res Bier Cafe, Portland, February 4, 2009
¡Burrito!, Westbrook, December 22, 2008
Hot Suppa!, Portland, November 12, 2008
Portland Pie Company, Portland, September 30, 2008
Emilitsa, Portland, September 2, 2008
Flatbread Company, Portland, August 5, 2008
A1 Diner, Gardiner, June 17, 2008
Mesa Verde, Portland, April 23, 2008
David's, Portland, March 26, 2008
Katahdin, Portland, February 27, 2008
Pom's Thai Taste, Portland, January 30, 2008
Silly's, Portland, January 9, 2008
Bintliff's, Portland, December 20, 2007
Blue Spoon, Portland, October 2, 2007
Caiola's, Portland, September 11, 2007
Bonobo, Portland, August 14, 2007
Cockeyed Gull, Peaks Island, July 24, 2007
The Good Egg Cafe, Portland, July 3, 2007
The White Heart, Portland, June 12, 2007
Artemisia, Portland, May 22, 2007

Veggin' out on the slopes

When fluffy powder falls softly in the morning, Bethel, Maine bustles with activity. Everyone wants to hit the slopes. A quintessential New England village, Bethel nestles up against the eight peaks of the Sunday River ski resort. So skiers are everywhere at this time of year.

During a recent visit, Adam and I stayed at our favorite Sudbury Inn, which houses both a popular watering hole and a restaurant. Guests get breakfast included with their stay, and the restaurant is open to the public in the morning as well. I was psyched that the kitchen stocked some soy milk for me and I ordered a bowl of cereal each morning.

Whenever we're in Bethel, we practically live at DiCocoa's, pictured above. Located near the Sudbury Inn on Main Street, this all-vegetarian market and bakery is always hopping. We usually stop in for the fantastic sandwiches and amazing coffee (they brew Matt's Organic Wood Roasted). You can pick up a few grocery items here too.

Once on the mountain, Adam and I made multiple stops at the ski-in, ski-out Pejamajo Cafe. Located right next to Barker Lodge, it serves up sweet and savory crepes and the most amazing vegan chili. Eating the steaming bowl while sitting in the warm sun was a wonderful treat.

Off the mountain, the best place to stock up on beer, wine and groceries is the Good Food Store. You also can get delicious sandwiches, soups and salads here, plus catering should you be planning an apres ski gathering. We were lucky enough to score an invitation to a home-cooked vegan dinner at our friends' off-the-grid mountain house. The perfectly cooked vegetable & tofu curry included fresh stinging nettle from the Good Food Store and flavorful basmati rice. It was an absolutely divine way to cap off a delightful trip.

Falling for Peaks Island

Summer may be officially over, but that didn't stop Adam and I from hopping the ferry out of Portland and heading to Peaks Island last weekend. After a gorgeous 15 minute ride from the bustling streets of Maine's largest city, we found ourselves in a completely different world, where time moves at a slower pace and bikes reign as the dominant means of transportation. Once on the island, our first stop was the always delicious Cockeyed Gull.

The first thing we did was order drinks. And since we were on an island and I was pining for the summer that came and went too quickly, I decided to order up a piña colada. It hit the spot perfectly.

I paired my tropical cocktail with the hummus plate with fresh veggies.

And the veggie stir fry with mung bean noodles.


In addition to the amazing food, the Cockeyed Gull is know for its stellar views of the harbor and the Portland skyline.


After lunch, we rented two bikes and began a leisurely cruise around the island. This laid back community has a loop road that makes an easy bike ride around the whole island. On the way, we stopped to admire the island architecture that ranges from cute cottage to modern mega-mansion.

We stopped in at the wonderfully preserved 5th Maine Regimental Museum, where we learned about the island's history as the "Coney Island of Maine" (about 100 years ago) and as the place where Portland's homeless population was housed (about 50 years ago).


When we got to the island's back shore, we left our bikes by the road and wandered down the narrow trail that leads to the the abandoned military installation known as Battery Steel. This is both a really cool and a really creepy fort to explore. I would have loved a flashlight as we walked through the pitch black tunnel, but all I had was my camera flash to guide us.


Back into the brilliant sunshine, we once again stowed our bikes so we could hang out on one of the back shore's rocky beaches. Because Maine is overflowing with creative people, you can't go anywhere without seeing art. Our rocky coastline is not exception. Behind me you can see the stacked rock sculptures that have become a hallmark of our rock bound beaches.


Anyone can add to the art, as Adam did with a handful of found objects, which included lobster shells, crab parts and an unopened and sun-faded Budweiser can.

The perfect pear sauce

This weekend we escaped to Sunshine Farm for some much needed R&R. We arrived on Sunday night and right away I noticed the overflowing basket of organic pears in the Big Mary kitchen.


The weather-worn fruits clearly came from the orchard, where chemical sprays are taboo.



The next day, I slept in a bit and by the time Adam and I had eaten breakfast and made our way over to Big Mary, the bountiful basket was almost empty.



My dad was rapidly peeling and slicing the pears and plopping them into a pot of water. He boiled the pears down, strained out some of the excess water and then served it. Warm and chunky, the sauce was utterly delicious. Sweet, but not too sweet, with a faint kiss of cooler nights and shorter days.

Market indicators

There's lots of talk these days about the slumping economy (and I certainly hear my share of it working in the publishing industry). But you wouldn't know money is tight by checking out the Portland Farmers' Market. Here popular items frequently sell out and we patiently wait in long lines to buy the amazing food grown by our local farmers.

I snapped this photo while standing in the middle of the line to buy corn at today's market. Sure, it was the first time corn was available at the Wednesday market (it debuted at the market this past Saturday), but I stood in line to buy lettuce too.


Since this seaside city is filled with foodies and progressive thinkers, it's no wonder so many of us realize that eating real food (as opposed to the processed and packaged variety) is the key to maintaining life-long health. The trick at Portland's booming farmers' markets is just getting your hands on some ...


But when you do, it's only a couple quick steps to deliciousness. Tonight, we whipped together a super simple market meal. I took advantage of this evening's rain and cooler temps to crank up the oven and bake a handful of lovely red potatoes. Then I threw together a vinaigrette, and Adam chopped up a salad. A few ears of corn on the cob finished this meal that came together in a flash with minimal prep time.


And the taste is the sweet flavor of summer itself.

Portland dine around

Because the only photos I've remembered to snap in my own kitchen recently -- of a yummy vegetable curry -- were so horribly out of focus when I downloaded them, I couldn't possibly post them here. Instead I share a pic of a spicy and delicious vegetable curry I ate at Passage to India. The two chutneys (tamarind and red pepper) they serve with the naan are amazing too. Maybe I'll get a photo of them the next time I'm there.


This is the drunken noodle with tofu from Pom's Thai Taste. With a burst of basil, the sauce is like freshness itself, and because it's so sweet it passes for dessert!

But for an actual dessert ...
Here's a really decadent vegan cheesecake Adam and I shared at Green Elephant. My profuse apologies for the fuzzy photo quality. But it was so delicious, I had to share it. We also split a chocolate orange mousse. Why no photo you ask? Because that particular shot is so blurred just glancing at it causes eye strain. So I've saved you the pain.

Beach by train

My sister Kay and I were sent on assignment to Old Orchard Beach last week. Our mission: Eliminate the notorious hassles of parking and carnival food, which plague this seaside town. As I reported in Switch magazine, the solution lies in taking the Amtrak Downeaster and eating at one of a handful of restaurants that offer up more whole foods and plant-based fare. These include: Bayside Pita Wraps, Chrys's Restaurant, Beach Bagels and Ole' JJ's, where I ate a delicious taco bowl made with refried beans. Yum!

What really made the trip special and so stress-free was our decision to take the train. We absolutely loved it! It's so much simpler than driving, and it's always fun to meet other travelers. And it's so thrilling that train service is being restored in Maine. I can't wait for the Amtrak service to be extended to Brunswick and beyond.

Here are a few more outtakes from our day trip:



The view from the Pier.


Here's Kay with the Pier Patio Pub in the background.


Kay took this shot inside the public bathroom around 8:20 am.



We got a great view of this crazy ride from inside Ole' JJ's.



The train station in Old Orchard Beach


Getting off the train in Portland and already looking forward to making the next trip.